“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie

Friday, January 8, 2016

Religious Freedom Activist Makes Howey Politics 2016 Power 50 List

38. Monica Boyer: The Kosciusko County Tea Party activist
is said to be recruiting a primary challenger for Senate President David Long
and others who would support SB100. She's had success on this front, playing a
key role in defeating not only U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, but moderate State
Reps Rebecca Kubacki and Kathy Heuer in 2014.

If the social
conservatives revolt from Gov. Pence over the civil rights legislation, Boyer
will be fanning the flames. On her blog this week, she is quoting Dr. Peter
Scaer who is terming

SB100 as "Orwellian" and on the verge of the
"truly awful." She believes

SB100 will "put a target" on Christians and is
"weaponizing" the politically correct movement. Boyer's blog,
"Not On My Watch," is a must-read for gauging the social
conservative/ evangelical right.

In the list, Howey recognized the extraordinary power of the Indiana legislature has relative to the Governor, naming Speaker Brian Bosma as No. 1 and Senate President Pro Tem David Long as No. 2 on the. Gov. Mike Pence finished third on the list. Unlike the power wielded by the executive in virtually every other other state, in Indiana the governor's veto can be overridden by a simple majority of both chambers (most require 2/3) and the governor has no line item veto.

Freedom of religion is already protected by the First Amendment. Equal protection is already outlined in the Thirteenth Amendment. It's simple. Hold whatever beliefs you want to hold, but don't use them to impinge on the rights of others. Why are we even having this debate?

Every individual American has the Constitutional right to accept or reject religious teaching. Attempting to drive religion out of someone else's life by forcing them to violate their own conscience--that is what is unAmerican.

You completely ignore the fact that the words in the Constitution only have whatever meaning and effect courts give them. In 1990, the United States Supreme Court all but read the Free Exercise Clause out of the Constitution in Employment Division v. Smith. That's why legislative bodies all over the country, including Congress, had to pass RFRAs - to reestablish a test that would give actual teeth to the Free Exercise Clause. It's true with other Constitutional provisions. Legislative bodies can always increase constitutional protections - the Constitution is the floor on rights, not a ceiling.

I don't know what kind of Christians you people are. No one is talking about helping the poor, the sick, the old. It's all about discriminating and making people live to your religious dogma. What a shame. The Bible does have some good teachings, why are you ignoring those parts?

Most Christians do help the poor, sick, & aged on a personal level without trumpeting their acts OR requiring others to do the same.

Many libertarian Christians, including myself, oppose govt redistribution programs on grounds that the programs violate the nonaggression principle inasmuch as taxation (force) is used to extract money to redistribute. Of course, force is also used to extract money to fund the military-industrial-congressional complex; many libertarian Christians oppose military expenditures as currently funded for this very reason.

About Me

I have been an attorney since the Fall of 1987. I have worked in every branch of government, including a stint as a Deputy Attorney General, a clerk for a judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals, and I have worked three sessions at the Indiana State Senate.
During my time as a lawyer, I have worked not only in various government positions, but also in private practice as a trial attorney handing an assortment of mostly civil cases.
I have also been politically active and run this blog in an effort to add my voice to those calling for reform.